1. Field of the Invention.
This invention relates to devices for killing insects, and particularly to collar-like devices such as are used on domestic pets such as dogs and cats for killing insects such as fleas and ticks.
2. Description of the Prior Art.
The broad concept of attaching to or suspending from a wide variety of animals and fouls devices bearing insect killing medicaments is an old concept. Thus, U.S. Pat. No. 1,203,590 discloses a split tubular band for application about the leg of poultry for the purpose of killing the lice with which poultry are frequently infested.
Again, U.S. Pat. No. 3,687,114 describes a pendant for suspension from a conventional collar, the pendant being generally a cylindrical container having apertures in the cylindrical walls, and containing an appropriate ingredient the fumes of which upon sublimation pass through the apertures and come in contact with the skin of the pet wearing the pendant.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,734,483 discloses a flea repelling animal collar that comprises a flexible one-piece loosely woven fabric tube having both ends closed and containing a flea repelling powder. One end of the fabric tube is provided with a ring while the other end is provided with a pair of tiestraps enabling attachment of the collar about the neck of an animal.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,047,505 discloses an insect repellant collar that is not only useful for animals, but is also useful for people. This device is quite similar to the device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,734,483 in that it provides an elongated tube at least one wall of which is provided with apertures through which an insect repellant may pass to repel insects. The tube also contains a layer of material to absorb moisture, and the ends of the tube are provided at opposite ends with the felt and hook material commonly sold commercially under the trademark "Velcro".
U.S. Pat. No. 4,350,122 discloses a collar structure for trapping fleas and other insects that might infest a dog or a cat, the collar being tubular and having sticky material within the tubular structure and apertures leading thereinto through which the fleas and insects may enter. When inside the tubuar collar, the insects become trapped in the sticky material and eventually die.
One of the disadvantages of all of the structures described in the patents noted above is that any given model of the device is limited in the size to which it may be extended, thus requiring the manufacture of various sizes of devices to satisfy a full range of needs. Accordingly, it is one of the important objects of the present invention to provide and elastically resilient structure that contains the insect killing medicament in a manner that permits elastic expandability of the collar to fit many different sizes of animals.
It is generally regarded best that the insect killing medicaments used in so called "flea" collars not come in contact with the skin of the animal wearing the collar. Obviously, in collars in which the insect killing medicament is incorporated directly in the material from which the collar is formed this becomes an impossibility since the collar, once applied, is in direct contact with the animal's skin and fur. Accordingly, another important object of the invention is the provision of an elastically resilient collar that contains the insect containing medicament but which retains the insect killing medicament spaced from the skin of the animal wearing the collar.
Still another object of the invention is the provision of an endless elastically resilient collar structure formed from spirally arranged coils that define an elongated space or cavity conforming to the configuration of the elastically resilient coils, yet which provides spaces between the successive coils for the evaporation of the insect killing medicament, the coils themselves spacing the insect killing medicament from the skin of the animal wearing the collar.
The invention possesses other objects and features of advantage, some of which, with the foregoing, will be apparent from the following description and the drawings. It is to be understood however, that the invention is not limited to the embodiments illustrated and described, since it may be embodied in various forms within the scope of the appended claims.